An intense heat wave in the desert Southwest is sending an increasing number of people to Phoenix-area emergency rooms.
Patients can simply be dehydrated but for people without shelter, temperatures nearing 115 degrees present much more dangerous consequences. While Phoenix officials said the number of heat-related deaths has leveled off or declined slightly in the last few years, longer, hotter summers are still creating a public health emergency, according to one emergency room physician.
Dr. Paul Pugsley, emergency department medical director for Valleywise Health in Phoenix, said patients are arriving in emergency rooms with a host of conditions, including severe heat rash…